These awards aim to mark the outstanding contributions of our staff, postgraduate and undergraduate students, whose voluntary dedication to communicating science to the public are not always recognised.

We are pleased to have made four awards in this first round, highlighting the scope of activities undertaken at the School of Biology.

Sophie Harrower

Sophie is currently completing her degree in Biology, and plans to become a school teacher. She is passionate about widening access and is heavily involved locally in Fife, mentoring school pupils from low attainment schools. She participates actively in the University of St Andrews First Chances programme as well as the Reach project and Space School.

Evelyn Sutiono

Evelyn is a fourth year undergraduate student in Cell Biology. As President of the Biology Society, she has led a number of events aimed at engaging both non-science students and the public. She also created a science illustration booklet with fellow student Alex Gilmore to introduce biomolecules to schoolchildren. Evelyn plans to continue working in science communication after she graduates.

Frances Entwistle

Frances is completing a PhD in Dr Peter Coote´s lab, looking at using wax moth larvae as an alternative model organism to study mycobacterial infections. She has been involved since its inception with Cell Block Science, a programme that helps promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) in local prisons, and has been active in the Sutton Trust Summer School, Explorathon and the XX Factor. She has also worked with the “Retirement is Opportunity” schemes for adults and retirees.

Dr Monica Arso Civil

Monica is a research fellow at SMRU (Sea Mammal Research Unit) whose work focuses on the monitoring of marine mammals, such as bottlenose dolphins and harbour seals, around Scotland to inform conservation efforts. This requires strong ties and communication with local communities, for which Monica created a blog about the Harbour Seal Decline Project. She is also a regular participant at outreach events such as the Dundee Science Festival, and has spoken on radio programmes like BBC Orkney.